Just as in any physical activity involving teamwork, it helps to warm up before performing improv. There are a lot of reasons for this, which run the gamut from settling nerves to boosting energy to getting everyone on the same page. This last one is really important for an ensemble, especially when the various actors haven't worked much with each other. There are dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of warm-ups used by improv troupes, theater groups, and others before practice and shows. And luckily for improvisers around the world, many improv games focus directly on getting participants on the same page mentally . One such game is " 7 Things ." 7 Things is a game in which one team member requests another team member confidently decalre 7 "truthful" things about a given subject. It is important to note that everything declared in improv is true, especially in a game like this. No matter what is said, even if it doesn't make any sense at all, the rest of th...
I am by no means a great improviser. And I am by no means a great leader. But I am both an improviser and a leader. And I have seen the value first-hand of linking the two together. This blog aims at connecting the lessons I have learned and am learning along my journeys in both. I have been performing improvisational comedy off and on since I was in high school (nearly twenty years ago!), with longer periods off than on. For most of that time, I was performing short-form improv, which is primarily focused on games. For the last year, I have focused on long-form, with a particular interest in instructing as well as in the business applications of improv. It's hard to define when someone beco mes a leader, so it's nearly impossible to put a number on that. What I can offer is that I have been leading teams professionally since 200 5. I don't have a particu lar ly tight philo sophy on leadership, but if I had to sum it up, it would look something like this: ...